Amazon has become the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the U.S. after announcing 14 new projects in North America and Europe. The projects bring Amazon’s total renewable energy investments to 10 gigawatts of electricity production capacity—enough to power 2.5million U.S. homes.
Already the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in Europe and globally, Amazon continues to advance its ambitious goal to power 100% of its activities with renewable energy by 2025—five years ahead of its original target. The new projects also support hundreds of jobs while providing hundreds of millions of dollars of investment in local communities.
“We’re driving hard to fulfill The Climate Pledge—our commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “Our investments in wind and solar energy in the U.S. and around the world send a signal that investing in green technologies is the right thing to do for the planet and citizens—as well as for the long-term success of businesses of all sizes across all industries everywhere.”
Among the new projects are 11 in the U.S., including the first solar projects in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Pennsylvania. The other projects are the largest solar farm in Canada, Amazon’s first renewable energy project in Finland, and the company’s fifth project in Spain.
The utility-scale solar and wind projects will supply renewable energy for Amazon’s corporate offices, fulfillment centers, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers that support millions of customers around the world. The projects will also help Amazon meet its commitment to produce enough renewable energy to cover the electricity used by all Echo devices in use.
The latest announcement means Amazon now has 232 renewable energy projects around the world, including 85 utility-scale wind and solar projects and 147 solar rooftops on facilities and stores worldwide.
“Amazon’s commitment to clean energy is highly commendable, and it is the type of investment that we need to see more of to meet the world’s critical energy and climate needs,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “It is becoming increasingly clear that corporations such as Amazon see solar and other renewable resources as the path forward to meet their energy and business needs, and we stand ready to support Amazon and other companies of all sizes in their decisions to go solar.”
The 14 new wind and solar projects include additional projects in the U.S., in Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. The projects mean Amazon has enabled more than 6 gigawatts of renewable energy in the U.S. through 54 projects.
In Canada, Amazon is launching a 375-megawatt solar farm that will be the company’s second in Alberta. When it comes online in 2022, the farm will bring Amazon’s capacity in Canada to more than 1 million megawatt hours—enough to power more than 100,000 Canadian homes.
Amazon’s first project in Finland—a 52-megawatt wind farm located near the country’s west coast—is expected to begin producing energy in 2022. And in Spain, Amazon is marking its fifth solar project in the country, one that will generate 152 megawatts when it begins contributing power to the grid in 2023. The project will bring total capacity in Spain to more than 520 megawatts.
“A new level of ambition across the private sector is necessary to accelerate decarbonization of the power system. Amazon’s leadership in investing and adopting renewable energy around the world paves the way for new innovation, and the ability to scale at the pace needed to address the real threats to the planet, people, and businesses posed by climate change,” said Miranda Ballentine, CEO of Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA).
Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge in 2019, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. The Pledge now has 108 signatories, including IBM, Unilever, PepsiCo, Visa, Verizon, Siemens, Microsoft, and Best Buy. To reach its goal, Amazon will continue to reduce emissions across its operations by taking real business actions and establishing a path to power its operations with 100% renewable energy—five years ahead of the company’s original target of 2030.
Some of Amazon’s other steps to reduce emissions across its operations include delivering its Shipment Zero vision to make all shipments net-zero carbon, with 50% net-zero carbon by 2030; purchasing 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, the largest order ever of electric delivery vehicles; and investing $2 billion in the development of decarbonizing services and solutions through the Climate Pledge Fund.
“With an impressive 10 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity now in its portfolio, and a path to reach its 100% renewable energy target five years ahead of schedule, Amazon continues to walk the walk when it comes to corporate clean energy leadership,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO of the American Council on Renewable Energy. “The renewable projects the company announced today will provide communities with good-paying jobs and the affordable, pollution-free power we need to combat the climate crisis.”
